abandon

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. v. To withdraw one's support or help from, especially in spite of duty, allegiance, or responsibility; desert: abandon a friend in trouble.
2. v. To give up by leaving or ceasing to operate or inhabit, especially as a result of danger or other impending threat: abandoned the ship.
3. v. To surrender one's claim to, right to, or interest in; give up entirely. See Synonyms at relinquish.
4. v. To cease trying to continue; desist from: abandoned the search for the missing hiker.
5. v. To yield (oneself) completely, as to emotion.
6. n. Unbounded enthusiasm; exuberance.
7. n. A complete surrender of inhibitions.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. To detach or withdraw one's self from; leave. To desert; forsake utterly: as, to abandon one's home; to abandon duty.
2. To give up; cease to occupy one's self with; cease to use, follow, etc.: as, to abandon an enterprise; this custom was long ago abandoned.
3. To resign, forego, or renounce; relinquish all concern in: as, to abandon the cares of empire.
4. To relinquish the control of; yield up without restraint: as, he abandoned the city to the conqueror.
5. To outlaw; banish; drive out or away.
6. To reject or renounce.
7. In com., to relinquish to the underwriters all claim to, as to ships or goods insured, as a preliminary toward recovering for a total loss. See abandonment.
8. n. The act of giving up or relinquishing; abandonment.
9. n. Abandonment to naturalness of action or manner; freedom from constraint or conventionality; dash.

Wiktionary

1. v. To give up control of, to surrender.
2. v. To leave behind, to desert.
3. v. To cast or drive out; to banish; to expel; to reject.
4. v. To relinquish a claim to property to underwriters.
5. n. A complete giving up to natural impulses; freedom from artificial constraint; careless freedom or ease.
6. v. To give up control of, to surrender.
7. v. To leave behind, to desert.
8. v. To cast or drive out; to banish; to expel; to reject.
9. v. To relinquish a claim to property to underwriters.
10. n. A complete giving up to natural impulses; freedom from artificial constraint; careless freedom or ease.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. v. To cast or drive out; to banish; to expel; to reject.
2. v. To give up absolutely; to forsake entirely ; to renounce utterly; to relinquish all connection with or concern on; to desert, as a person to whom one owes allegiance or fidelity; to quit; to surrender.
3. v. Reflexively: To give (one's self) up without attempt at self-control; to yield (one's self) unrestrainedly; -- often in a bad sense.
4. v. To relinquish all claim to; -- used when an insured person gives up to underwriters all claim to the property covered by a policy, which may remain after loss or damage by a peril insured against.
5. n. Abandonment; relinquishment.
6. n. A complete giving up to natural impulses; freedom from artificial constraint; careless freedom or ease.

WordNet 3.0

1. v. forsake, leave behind
2. v. leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch
3. v. stop maintaining or insisting on; of ideas or claims
4. n. the trait of lacking restraint or control; reckless freedom from inhibition or worry
5. n. a feeling of extreme emotional intensity
6. v. give up with the intent of never claiming again
7. v. leave behind empty; move out of